Use E-Verify, not wall to stop immigrants

With DACA (the

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program) on the front burner, and with it other items related to immigration reform, now is a time to rethink building a physical barrier between Mexico and the U.S.

If the point of the wall is to stop the flow of illegal immigration from our southern border, maybe there is a better way to accomplish that goal. Many immigrants come from other ways than crossing our southern border, like overstaying their visas and temporary work visas.

Since most of these immigrants are here to work, they should have to prove they are eligible. E-Verify is a federal program that can be used to certify a person is legally here and eligible to work in the U.S., so why not make it mandatory for all businesses and employers to use?

Instead of using billions of dollars to build a wall, use that money for Homeland Security to hire more people to enforce a law requiring all businesses and employers to comply or face penalties. Using E-Verify makes so much more practical sense than building a wall as it deals with undocumented immigrants no matter how they came to the U.S.

This would probably lead to lower unemployment levels and better wages for American workers along with slowing the number of immigrants trying to enter the country illegally. RICHARD BRIANT, ROYAL PALM BEACH